Snow Day vs. Delay Day Protocol

Is this year going to be an everlasting winter?

By: Kristie Gong

As the days become shorter and winter turns around the corner, coats and scarves are being pulled out the back of closets. Each snow fall is met with questions of delays or snow days.
Jeffrey Newton, the Superintendent of East Lyme Public Schools, works with the East Lyme Public Works Department, East Lyme Police Department, and a weather service to determine the severity of the weather. The weather service gives him consistent updates and records on storms. Inclement weather, road conditions, and the timing of the storms are factors that determines the result.
A common bruit is that there are snow days built into the school year. However, no snow days are actually built-into the school year; they are added to the end of the year, according to Mr. Newton.
“The safety of students is imperative and we always make decisions that ensure we are not putting students, buses, and families in danger or out on snowy or icy roads,” said Mr. Newton.
Around 5 a.m. is when the final decision is shared will all East Lyme residents. Mr. Newton discusses the decision of closing the school or delaying the day with the weather service and other departments an hour beforehand.
Discussions depend on the weather. Snow, ice, road blockages, fallen trees, and power outages are some of the topics. Discussions on roads, focus on snow and ice, whether they have been treated with salt and the conditions of them.
Overall, this year’s weather should be colder than last year, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that the temperature is still higher than normal but incomparable to the warmest winters like the previous two years.
On the East Coast, there’s an estimated 33 to 40 percent chance of having an above-average winter, meaning warmer than typical, according to the NOAA.